October 20, 2016 - On Hiki No, Episode #804, Students at Kalani High School in East O‘ahu demonstrate how to make a thaumatrope – a simple device made from paper and string that creates rudimentary forms of animation. [PBS]

October 19, 2016 - The Hawaii State Department of Health (DOH) has confirmed an additional case of hepatitis A in an Oahu food service worker. The infected case is an employee at McDonald’s of Kahala, located at 4618 Kilauea Avenue in Honolulu. Affected dates of service are Sept. 20–21, 23–24, 27–29, and Oct. 1, 4–5, 7, and 11, 2016. [Damon Tucker]

October 15, 2016 - Ground has broken on Kaikaina, a new Department of Hawaiian Homelands project in Waimanalo. Thirty-one new units are being built. [KHON]

October 15, 2016 - A former administrative assistant for the company that owns the Hawaii Kai Shopping Center is facing charges that she forged hundreds of checks to steal $286,000 from her employer. An Oahu grand jury returned an indictment Wednesday charging Adrienne M. Saffery with first-degree theft and 203 counts of forgery. The indictment also charges Saffery's husband, Lyle, with first-degree theft and 96 counts of forgery. Circuit Judge Colette Garibaldi set bail for the Safferys at $100,000 each. [Star Advertiser - library card required]

October 14, 2016 - DOE reminds parents that applications for the Preschool Open Doors program are due Oct. 31 for January-July 2017 term. The program provides subsidies to qualifying families for preschool tuition and the opportunity to gain essential skills to be successful in school and in life. Income eligibility limits apply. Children must be born between August 1, 2011 and July 31, 2012. Details & application: http://www.patchhawaii.org/families/paying/preschool

October 12, 2016 - Kamaka Ukulele becomes the first musical instrument manufacturer in Hawaii to reach its 100 year anniversary. In 1916 Samuel Kaialiilii Kamaka established the Kamaka ‘Ukulele and Guitar Works in the cellar of his home on 5th Avenue in Kaimuki. The Honolulu Star Advertiser recalls its illustrious history. [Star-Advertiser]

October 10, 2016 - After four months, Gyotaku restaurants have dropped their 4 percent kitchen-service charge after complaints from customers. Gyotaku operates four restaurants on Oahu, including one in Niu Valley. [PBN]

October 6, 2016 - Crosswalks; bus stops could be removed in Aina Haina. A proposed crosswalk and bus stop removal will be focused on a small stretch of Kalanianaole highway in Aina Haina. The study was brought on by safety issues after two separate pedestrian deaths. Right now, there are three crosswalks with no traffic lights between Waa and Kaai streets. The state is proposing to get rid of those, and the city is also thinking about taking away four nearby bus stops, a fifth would be relocated. [KHON]

October 4, 2016 - OK Poultry has returned to the Kaiser HS Farmer's Market on Tuesdays. The farm fresh eggs are a popular item among local residents.

September 30, 2016 - Honolulu Police Department (HPD) warns residents on law enforcement imposters. “A local male approached a Hawaii Kai residence, knocked on the door, relayed he was an officer with HPD,” said Sgt. Jerome Pacarro, Honolulu Police Department. The impersonator told the 95-year-old would-be victim he wanted to install a surveillance system in the home, but the man did not let him in. “For these kind of situations, please, please keep the door locked, and talk through the peephole through the door,” Pacarro said. [KHON]

September 26, 2016 - The Waimanalo Beach Park campground will be closed starting Wednesday, Oct. 5, to allow Department of Parks and Recreation crews to improve the campsites. Camping at Waimanalo Bay Beach Park and Bellows Field Beach Park will remain open during this time. The improvements at Waimanalo Beach Park include cleaning, landscaping, installing new bench tables and conducting maintenance. [KHON]

September 26, 2016 -Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell and city officials are under fire from a nonprofit organization for “the continuing misuses of admission fees paid by visitors to Hanauma Bay.”“The simple reality is that the City has intentionally, and persistently, misused these funds in violation of court rulings,” attorneys Paul Alston and Michael Purpura said in a seven-page letter to Mayor Kirk Caldwell that they sent on behalf of Friends of Hanauma Bay. [Civil Beat] This article was followed by an October 30, 2016 Op-Ed from Civil Beat, "Honolulu Should Audit Hanauma Bay Fund, Repay Any Misused Cash"

September 26, 2016 -Just around the corner from Makapuu, the turquoise ocean water is inviting and the view offshore stunning. The sight along one section of beach is also stunning -- but in a completely different way. Several areas are strewn with broken bottles, fragments of furniture, and lots of leftover litter. The group "808 Cleanup" alerted us to the piles of trash. It plans to help clear the coastline of rubbish in the coming weeks. [KITV]

September 23, 2016 - The state Department of Health sent a Hazard Evaluation and Emergency Response (HEER) team to look into the discovery of discarded syringes at an East Oahu Beach Friday. Workers combed the beach near Makai Research Pier looking for anything that may have been missed. [KHON]

September 22, 2016 - Pacific Business News reports that Henry Kapono's Portlock home is on the market for 1.9 million dollars. [PBN]

September 22, 2016 - Aloha Petroleum will operate a new Hawaii Kai gas station to be located at the site of the current Tesoro on Keahole Street. Permits have been filed to demolish and rebuild. [PBN]

September 21, 2016 - 30-year-old Zachary Felipe of Manoa was pulled from the water at China Walls near Portlock. He was pronounced dead by EMS. [KITV]

September 21, 2016 - The Honolulu Star-Advertiser highlights reknown surf photographer Mike Prickett and his courage in persevering after paralysis. Prickett saved a surfer but suffered the bends and lost use of his legs. Prickett, 51, is a Kaiser High School graduate who landed his first photography job at the age of 15. [Star-Advertiser - library card required]

September 20, 2016 - Prominent Hawaii musician Ernie Cruz, Jr., of the Ka‘au Crater Boys, died after being found unresponsive at Sandy Beach. [Star-Advertiser]

September 20, 2016 - Following car break-ins at Manoa, Noelani, Wilson, Aina Haina and Waialae elementary schools this month, the Hawaii Department of Education issued a press alert. The break-ins occurred during afterschool hours. In each case, vehicle windows were broken and small items taken, including purses, bags, cellphones and laptops. [Hawaii DOE]

September 19, 2016 - Niu Valley Middle School registar's office reports problems with transitioning to the new statewide system. The school requests patience as the issues are remedied. [Niu Valley Middle School]

September 19, 2016 - National-chain Jersey Mike's Subs is scheduled to open in the Hawaii Kai Towne Center in early 2017. It will occupy the space formerly leased to GameStop. [PBN]

September 14, 2016 - Pro footballer Olin Kreutz, a Niu Valley native, has been nominated for the 2017 NFL Hall of Fame. Kreutz played for the Chicago Bears and the New Orleans Saints for 13 years before retiring in 2011. [KHON]

September 13, 2016 - Whole Foods, a mainland chain with Oahu locations in Kailua and Kahala, has stopped buying fish from the Oahu fish auction until vendors can prove that they engage in fair trade practices. This change comes in light of investigations demonstrating slave-like conditions on fishing boats. [KHON]

September 10, 2016 - Honolulu police arrested a 25-year-old man in connection with the slashing of a 66-year-old man on Hunakai Street near Kahala Mall on Friday night. [Star Advertiser]

September 10, 2016 - Honolulu police are looking for two suspects in the robbery of a man in Kahala Friday afternoon. Police said the incident happened on Koloa Street. [Star Advertiser]

September 9, 2016 - A 27-year-old man was charged Monday with assaulting two police officers and possessing illegal drugs in McCully, police said. Tavin Winward of Hawaii Kai was charged with first-degree assault on a law enforcement officer and a drug offense. [Star Advertiser - library card required]

September 9, 2016 - A 46-year-old man has been charged with numerous violations of a protective order after he entered a woman's home in Hawaii Kai, police said. Lord Cabana of Wahiawa was charged with eight counts of violating a protective order. His bail was set at $16,000. Cabana entered the victim's home at about 2:20 a.m. Saturday, violating a protective order the 57-year-old woman had against him, police said. Patrol units found him inside the home and arrested him on Hakalau Place. [Star Advertiser - library card required]

September 9, 2016 - Aina Haina Genki Sushi set to reopen September 10 after being cleared by the Department of Health. Genki Sushi scallops were identified as the primary source of Hawaii's recent Hepatitis A outbreak. [Star Advertiser]

EastOahu96825 is a website focused on the Hawaii Kai Neighborhood. Articles of interest include nearby free and low-cost events, local fundraisers, Costco shopping, and my trials and tribulations in learning Japanese as a second language.

This site also posts the latest information on my pet project, a once a month plant swap that takes place every 2nd Tuesday at Kaiser High School from 4-7pm.